Thursday, October 18, 2007

Rain in the Forecast

For the first time in quite a while, there's a decent chance to see rain in our area over the next day or two. The chances aren't that great today, but are much higher for Friday.

Ahead of a storm system moving across the country, moisture is streaming into North Carolina from the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. The only problem today is that we don't have a significant weather system to squeeze that moisture out of the atmosphere so we're left with mostly cloudy conditions and nothing more than a few light showers. If you see one of these light showers today, the rain totals should be less than a tenth of an inch.

That will all change Friday as a cold front moves across the state. That will produce showers and thunderstorms during the day across North Carolina. In fact, some of those thunderstorms have the potential to become strong to severe. As of Thursday morning, the Storm Prediction Center has placed our area along with much of the east coast under a "slight risk" for severe thunderstorms.

Most computer models now show the heaviest of the rains and thunderstorms passing through our part of the state during the afternoon hours. Here's a look at forecast from a model run by the State Climate Office of North Carolina.

That same model is also showing up to an inch of rain is possible across much of our region. Heavier thunderstorms may produce even more than that.

While up to an inch of rain would be very welcome around North Carolina, it is important to note that one good rainfall to break the exceptional drought that has developed the last several months. However, it certainly is a start. Stay tuned to News 14 Carolina for Weather on the Ones updates with the latest on the rain chances and the threat for strong storms on Friday.